Holy Ghost Feast president says event is about tradition, not politics

The Great Feast of the Holy Ghost New England is an event that celebrates the Azores’ rich history and culture, but not its politics, claims feast President Luis Carreiro. So since the President of the Regional Government of the Azores Carlos César of the Socialist Party decided not to run f...

The Great Feast of the Holy Ghost New England is an event that celebrates the Azores’ rich history and culture, but not its politics, claims feast President Luis Carreiro.

So since the President of the Regional Government of the Azores Carlos César of the Socialist Party decided not to run for re-election, the Holy Ghost Feast organizers decided to invite him to be the event’s special guest of honor for his many years of service to the Azores, Carreiro said.

“No matter what your politics are, President César did a wonderful job, and it’s an honor to have him at our feast,” he said.

César is expected to participate in the ethnographic parade on Aug. 25 and the solemn Coronation Mass at Saint Anne’s Church followed by the crowning procession on Aug. 26.

He is also a guest at Monday night’s closing banquet.

This isn’t the president’s first visit to the feast. He marched in the parade in 1996 right before he was elected as the first socialist president of the Regional Government of the Azores, and in 2006, he was again invited to the feast.

A former guest of honor, Azores Social Democratic Party presidential candidate Berta Cabral won’t be present for this year’s Great Feast of the Holy Ghost because of the election. But Cabral, the former mayor of the country’s largest city, Ponta Delgada, was in the region recently and spoke with The Herald News during her tour.

Ponta Delgada is Fall River’s sister city and, according to Cabral, holds a huge celebration of the Holy Ghost annually, a feast that started in the Azores.

“It happens every second weekend in July, and it gets bigger and bigger every year. It is very, very traditional. It is a symbol of our Azoreanship,” Cabral said.

Last year, Vasco Cordeiro was elected to succeed César as the Socialist Party leader and is Cabral’s opponent in the presidential race. Elections are in October.

Cabral was mayor for 11 years and resigned July 31 to concentrate on her campaign, she said.

Cabral said her five-day visit in the region between Aug. 2 and Aug. 6 was meant to reconnect with the people who identify with Azorean culture with the goal of promoting her country as a tourist destination.

With 1 million people of Azorean heritage living in the United States and Canada — four times more than reside on Azores’ nine islands — Cabral said it’s important to the economic development of her country to reach across the Atlantic and make connections.

“We have to recognize there is all this potential here to develop our economy in tourism. The Azorean people in the United States are very linked and have strong ties to the country,” Cabral said.

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Not unlike the campaign platforms in the U.S., Cabral said the creation of jobs is crucial to the future of the Azores, particularly to retain the county’s younger population.

“If the young people don’t find jobs, then they leave. Without a younger population, you can’t develop anything,” Cabral said.

During her tour of the area, Cabral attended a dinner at the Portuguese Cultural Center, toured the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and met with local and Rhode Island politicians.

Cabral did get to take in a few celebrations, including the Saint Michael’s Church procession in Fall River, and concluded her trip with a visit to the Boston Statehouse.

Cabral said she has fond memories of when she was invited as mayor of Ponta Delgada to be an honored guest.

Asked when she would be coming back to participate in the feast, Cabral said, “When I am president.”